


Duncan's Journey

by CanonIsAlwaysWorse



Category: Total Drama, Total Drama (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:15:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28425357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanonIsAlwaysWorse/pseuds/CanonIsAlwaysWorse
Summary: Two years after Total Drama, everyone continues on with their everyday life with Duncan being no exception, will he live up to his bad boy rep or will he finally fight his own urges to become a hero.
Relationships: Duncan/Zoey (Total Drama)
Kudos: 3





	1. The Beginning

In another part of Canada, hailed to be known as the most "dangerous" parts of the city resided a strong gang, who have seized control of most of the sectors in the city. The mere mention of their name nowadays brings shivers down people's spine….. actually it's become more of a taboo to say the name unless one likes breathing through a tube. But to those who were courageous enough to say it, usually made mention of an "RVB" or "Rebellious Vulture Boyz" while discussing with other gangs at bars. Some poor saps have even begun to see the group's accomplishments as a myth. The fear "RVB" has instilled on many gangs is alarming and disturbing to say the least. Speaking of said group, some of their members were in the middle of a violent quarrel with others breaking them up.

"No fuck you!" A young man with a green Mohawk, dog collar on his neck and multiple blue piercings on his face, bellowed. "I'm sick and tired of you trying to call me out for my bad boy rep!"

"Because you're not even a real bad boy nowadays or if you ever were a bad boy…." A young man with red hair and freckles, along with dark-grey circular piercings sneered. "Just telling it how it is, Duncan Do Good." The boy chuckled at that last statement which further angered Duncan, who was trying to get out of his teammates' arms.

Said person was a handsome, tanned young man with dark brown hair, a dark-grey bull necklace with matching hoop piercings to go with the color. "Bromigos, that's enough!" The boy glared, keeping Duncan at bay. "Ever since that last fight we had with the Sharks, you guys have been at each other's throats like crazy."

"Sha-yeah! Like the Lightning doesn't want to keep wasting his energy on guys acting like a bunch of little girls." A dark-skinned young man with brown hair, a yellow thunderbolt necklace and yellow piercings frowned while keeping the red-haired boy away from Duncan. "Scott, can't you just take back what you said about Duncan?"

"And why the hell should I? " Scott scoffed. "It was all true after all… Duncan acts like he's hard and all, but he's nothing more but a big softy in the inside. Take All-Stars for example."

That last comment had Duncan's anger rising to the boiling point at the memories that season had on his bad boy pride and all the ridicule and teasing he received for his "nice guy" actions which only got worse after he was released from prison for good behavior. He vowed to leave most of that season in the dark depths of his mind but thanks to Scott, it was resurfacing again.

"You know what…. FUCK YOU AND FUCK ALL OF THIS SHIT." Duncan bellowed, pointing at Scott. "You're the LAST person who should be talking about All-Stars with how much of a dumbass you became and how utterly pathetic you were. You wanna cast shade, at least do it right. I had Courtney for three seasons and you can barely handle her for half a season." Duncan then started to chuckle at this with Scott glaring at him, viciously. " Shows how much you "stack up" to me."

"Better than becoming a little bitch and thrown on the boring heroes team and having a book nerd take your place. Hell even he was more of a villain than you. Maybe we should have him in the RVB. Better than the guy who cries over little birdies." Scott sneered. 

Duncan then tried to make another dive for Scott, but was held back down by Alejandro. "Scott, Duncan STOP. This is utterly ridiculous. The level of idiocy happening right now is driving me muy loco!" The Latino growled.

"If Duncan can't take the heat, then he should simply get out of the kitchen if you know what I mean." Scott retorted.

"I got what you mean just fine and you know what, screw it. I don't need this group to prove I'm bad. I don't need to prove anything to you guys." Duncan looked at the rest of the RVB. "Hope you find a guy who fits your "tastes" because I'm done. I quit."

The announcement received mixed reactions from the group with Lightning gasping in shock, Alejandro groaning in annoyance and Scott snorting in indifference.

"Look Duncan….. can't we talk about this?" Alejandro asked. "You're an essential part of this group with your impressive street cred and vast amount of skills. You're a strong person to have in our ranks. Don't mind Scott."

"Oh believe me… I don't really care if dirt boy thinks I've gone soft." Duncan glanced at Scott, who just rolled his eyes. " I just feel I can expand my horizon and look for other ways to prove my worth."

"Sha-please! What's better than being part of the baddest group in Canada? Our Team Men group has literally conquered pretty much every street in Canada! Nobody wants to mess with us. We're the best. Sha-WIN!" Lightning finished off by flexing and kissing his muscles that he nicknamed "Thunderbolt and Static Shock".

Duncan rolled his eyes at the jock and continued on with his speech. "As I was saying…. I don't need this group to prove I'm toughest motherfucker around. I know I am."

"Well then if you're leaving, then leave. Like literally nobody's going to miss you." Scott shrugged

"Scott! That was unnecessary and you're not making things any better." Alejandro scolded.

"That was the point…" Scott smirked.

Duncan then walked off to his motorcycle with Alejandro calling out to him. "Look, don't do this. We can try sorting this out. You're only going to prove that you really are a sensitive, little softie who can't take the heat."

Duncan turned around and frowned at Alejandro. "Again, I don't give a shit what you guys think of me, I know I'm the toughest dude around. I'm a lone wolf from here on out." With that said, Duncan got on his motorcycle and rode off away from the sector, leaving his team behind. Where he'll head off to next is anybody's guess. But to Duncan, he feels that he can prove he's bad on his own without being with the RVB.


	2. I'm not nice

Meanwhile Duncan made his way out of the sectors and after a half an hour or so of riding on his motorcycle, he arrived in the suburbs of Alberta. It's a pretty nice town with some good looking houses. Suddenly, Duncan felt his stomach rumble loudly.

"Shit… I haven't eaten anything since like this morning." Duncan groaned. "Gotta stop by and grab me a bite to eat before I pass out. Then, I can decide where I go from here." He began looking for restaurants and diners. He passed by ones that didn't catch his interest but as his stomach's protests became louder, he began losing his patience.

"Ok screw it. Whatever food joint I find next, I'm eating there. No questions asked." Duncan grumbled. As he continued riding, he found a burger diner just to his right. "Sweet… beggars can't be choosers at this point." He pulled up and parked near the entrance. He bolted inside the diner and pushed some people in line out of the way.

"Hey! No cutting, asshole!" A middle aged man yelled in protest but stopped as Duncan gave him a vicious glare. "N-never mind. I'm not that hungry anyways."

"Thought so." Duncan smirked as he turned to the female cashier. "I'd like a bacon double cheeseburger combo with curly fries at the side."

"Ok….that will be 5.60, sir." The girl spoke up, with hesitation evident in her voice which Duncan picked up immediately. He couldn't blame her after what he just did. But he was too hungry to really give a damn about it any further.

"5.60? Man I knew I should have stopped at that McRogers half a mile back…" Duncan muttered as he pulled up a 10 and handed it to her. She then gave him his change and as she was giving him his receipt, a voice called out to him.

"DUNCAN?!"

Looking back at the direction of the voice, Duncan was greeted with a girl with fair skin and long red hair. She was sporting a white blouse, blue skirt and blue wedges topping it off with a blue flower in her hair. She looked absolutely beautiful and at the same time oddly familiar.

"Ummm…who….?" Duncan pointed at her, which she giggled in response.

"You don't recognize me? It's me! Zoey!" The girl exclaimed.

"Wait….ZOEY?! What the fuck?" Duncan's eyes widen in disbelief. "You look so…. different now. Your outfit… your hair…"

Zoey giggled. "Well it has been about 2 years since we last saw each other… but I'll take that as a compliment. Unless it wasn't!" Zoey's eyes narrowed a bit as she rubbed her arm, nervously.

Duncan laughed at this. "Wow… I guess you really are Zoey. That's some crazy shit. But no, you look pretty damn fine if you ask me." Duncan winked causing Zoey to blush in embarrassment.

"Thanks." She smiled. "So how have you been?"

"Ehh pretty good… doing this and that." Duncan shrugged. "What about you?"

"Me? Well I've been pretty good myself. In school, working a part time job at an ice cream shop and just trying to enjoy life I guess." Zoey chuckled.

"Sounds like an adventure." Duncan laughed but then stopped when he noticed Zoey looking at the side of his jacket. "Umm.. what?"

"What does "RVB" stand for?" Zoey inquired.

"Oh that…. "Duncan was deciding if he should tell Zoey or not but since he parted ways with the group, he feels like he doesn't really have much to lose. "Well it stands for Rebellious Vulture Boyz and it's the symbol of my group…. well former group sounds a lot more appropriate. "

"Wow. Sounds pretty cool. Who's the other members?" Zoey asked.

"Well there's 4 in total including myself. There's Alejandro, Lightning and Scott… yeah you must know who they are."

"Oh those guys huh… yeah how can I forget?" Zoey mumbled, frowning a bit. "They weren't necessarily the nicest guys on the show."

"Well they were on the villains team along with myself and our crew is a bad boys group." Duncan shrugged.

"But still…."

"You're not a fan of them from what I remember, especially Scott."

Zoey narrowed her eyes at the mention of Scott's name. "Well it's not like I hate him anymore but I can't really forget how mean he was to me and my friends on Revenge of the Island. Same with Lightning. But they weren't so bad in All-Stars."

"I guess. But that season sucked so it's not like it mattered." Duncan smirked causing Zoey to laugh.

"Yeah especially with how adorable you were with the blue birdies. "Zoey smirked back causing Duncan to shoot a playful glare at her making the indie chick laugh even louder.

"I'm glad you're having fun at my expense. I thought you were a nice girl." Duncan muttered, folding his arms.

"Well even a nice girl has her limits." Zoey giggled.

"Whatever you say, sweetheart." Duncan rolled his eyes, smiling. "Speaking of All-Stars, how's your relationship with Mike?"

Zoey's happy smile quickly disappeared and was replaced with a sad smile on her face as her eyes darted away from Duncan's.

"Uhh Zoey? You ok?"

"No….I'm fine…. It's just that…."Zoey was trying to find the right words to say.

"It's just what?" Duncan questioned.

"It's just that… Mike and I are….. Mike is… " Zoey struggling to control herself as her eyes welled up with tears.   
"Jt's just what? Mike is what? Cmon, spit it out already, red." Duncan said in a half-joking manner.

"Mike is…..gone." Zoey told him as she hid her face to hide the tears rolling down her eyes.

Duncan's eyes widened at the news. "Woah…. So ol' toothpick bit the dust huh….wow that sucks."

"Wait what?" Zoey looked back at Duncan with confusion. "No no you have it all wrong." She chuckled, wiping away some of the tears from her eyes. "I meant Mike's not in the country anymore."

"Oohh… that's what you meant. Wow I feel like Tyler right now." Duncan scratched his head in embarrassment with Zoey giggling at the action. "So when did he move and I'm assuming him moving would put some strain on your relationship with him."

"It's like you can read me like a book." Zoey joked in a sad manner. "But yes, you're right. The move definitely affected our relationship completely and even before then, I just realized how little Mike and I know about each other."

"Huh.. you don't say…." Duncan trailed off.

"Yeah." Zoey continued on. "I mean all we really knew about each other was that we liked waffles, action movies and nice people. I mean I didn't really know about what Mike wanted to be when he grows up or any of his dreams and vice versa. We were just focused on the love aspect of the relationship and dealing with his disorder but we never you know…. really got to actually grow as a couple since we didn't know that much about each other."

"Well at least you guys respected each other… "Duncan narrowed his eyes. "Unlike me and Courtney…" He muttered in a low voice.

"What was that?" Zoey questioned.

"Oh nothing," Duncan looked back at Zoey, who was giving him an "I don't believe you" look. "Seriously it's nothing… so go on, what caused the rift between you and Mike?"

"Well…. we just began having our differences after we got to learn more on what we like or dislike and it started to get constant. While Mike was never physically or verbally abusive towards me, the arguments just became too much and right there and then, I realized that me and Mike have more differences than I thought we did." Zoey started tearing up again, causing Duncan to place a hand on her shoulder as a sign of comfort despite his ego telling him he's a bad boy and bad boys don't comfort other people.

"Wow… it pretty much sounds like my relationship with Courtney the more you talk about your relationship with Mike." Duncan mused. "I mean when we got together, it was like fireworks but as time passed, all that feeling went away after I realized Courtney and I have pretty much nothing in common. I mean yeah it was kinda obvious from the start but back then….."Duncan took his hand off of Zoey's shoulder, which caused the girl to look up at him. His face was cold and emotionless. Like the old Duncan just disappeared and has been replaced by some doppelganger "She wasn't so bad…. back then…. back then….. she seemed to actually care about me. Like she had a heart. Then she changed and became more and more bossy along with ruthless. I may have been responsible for that."

"N-no! You can't blame yourself for the past!" Zoey exclaimed as she grabbed Duncan's hand. "I mean I've seen the show from the beginning and if anybody's responsible for Courtney's behavior, it's Courtney. Nobody else."

Duncan chuckled at the comment. "I'd like to think that but the same thing happened with Gwen too. I mean yeah her case wasn't as bad as Courtney's, but she changed as well once All-Stars began and was being distant towards me for some reason. She didn't even bother to tell me or maybe I didn't bother to listen. I just don't know."

Zoey was looking at the hidden sorrow coming from the normally level headed delinquent's face and for the first time since she first saw him while watching Total Drama Island, she saw a side of Duncan that she didn't know that existed. That the world didn't know that existed just like they didn't believe he had a soft side. She's seeing a sign of regret. Something Duncan's never shown once on the show so to Zoey, this is all new.

"Duncan…." Zoey squeezed his hand as a way to comfort him. "You're not a bad person. Sure you make mistakes, but that's just how humans are. Nobody's perfect. You can't keep beating yourself up over the past. All you have to do is look forward to tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Duncan inquired looking up at Zoey.

"Yes because tomorrow is the first step towards the future. Because with tomorrow comes endless possibilities. That's pretty much what I've been telling myself after things went down the way they did with Mike.." Zoey's grip on Duncan's hand, loosened a bit at the thought of Mike.

"Yeah you never did finish your story on what happened with Mike because I had to bombard you with my own failed romance." Duncan chuckled, jokingly. "My bad."

"It's ok." Zoey giggled before getting serious once again. "It's not your fault, well to pretty much finish it off…. Mike's family decided to move out of the country to explore new opportunities with Mike no longer having his disorder and all. When he first told me about this, I was devastated. I didn't want to lose Mike and he felt the same way but at the same time, our relationship wasn't really going anywhere so it just…" For the third time today, Zoey was on the verge of tears as she gripped Duncan's hand tighter to control herself with Duncan subconsciously placed his right hand on her hand to keep her from losing it.

"You don't have to go any further if you don't want to…" Duncan spoke, gently. "I can see how painful this is for you. We don't have to talk about this any—"

"No." Zoey whispered. "I need to talk about it. To let it all out after keeping it in for more than a year. As you know, I don't have a lot of friends besides Cameron and Gwen…. and I didn't have the courage or the willpower to talk to them about it without breaking down completely but I believe that the sooner I get this off my chest, the better." She looked back at Duncan to see if he was paying attention and once she saw that he was, she took a deep breath and finished her story.

"I…. decided that we should break up." Zoey began, practically crushing Duncan's hand at this point. "He took it so hard, like I just destroyed his whole world. I just felt it wouldn't work out when we live like thousands of miles away from each other. It just wasn't fair to Mike and I believe he should start his life over completely with him now being free of his disorder. I-I did it for him! Because I loved him!" At this point, Zoey was sobbing grabbing the attention of some of the customers nearby with Duncan sending a glare at each and every one of them in a "Turn the fuck around and continue eating your slop or else" manner with everyone pretty much obeying and turning their attention back to their meal. Duncan returned his attention at the sobbing girl and held her hand tightly.

"Zoey… it's ok. You did what you had to do. You did it for him so you shouldn't keep kicking your own ass over it." Duncan said trying to calm the red head down.

"Then why does it still hurt? Why do I feel like I'm in the wrong for doing such a thing?" Zoey whimpered as the tears continued flowing down her cheeks.

"Because… you really liked him and for his own good, you made the sacrifice on letting him go." Duncan whispered. "He might not have known it back then, but I'm sure now he understands what you were trying to do for him and is probably thanking you wherever he is."

"You really think so?" Zoey sniffled as the sobs began dying down.

"I know so. Now cmon, as you just told me a couple of minutes ago, you have to forget about the past and look forward to tomorrow. After all, tomorrow usually brings in endless possibilities, right?" Duncan winked causing the girl to giggle as she let go of Duncan's hand to wipe away the remaining tears on her face.

"Thanks Duncan…. I really appreciate it. I always knew you were a sweet guy. I feel better telling you everything. " Zoey smiled.

"S-sweet? I'm not sweet! I just didn't want to see you crying, that's all!" Duncan grunted which Zoey laughed at. "I'm serious…. Duncans aren't sweet."

Zoey grinned. "Except this one." She poked him on the nose causing the delinquent to growl as Zoey giggled at Duncan's reaction. Then they both looked down at the table and realized something crazy: they were still holding hands. Finally noticing this, they both let go turning away from the other with their faces red.

"Uhh sorry… I didn't mean to invade your personal space." Zoey blushed in embarrassment.

"It's cool…" Duncan shrugged trying to play it cool despite his face being as red as a tomato. "No biggie.."

Then silence took over as the two former All-Stars looked at anywhere but each other as the employee finally came to the table with Duncan's food.

"Here's your meal sir, sorry for the wait." The male employee said.

"Well it's about time. I could have used this time to take a nap if I knew how slow the service would be." Duncan grumbled as he took the food and started attacking it out of hunger.

"So… what do you plan to do now?" Zoey asked.

"What do you mean?" Duncan mumbled with food in his mouth.

"Well what I mean is, where you plan to go?" Zoey reiterated. "I mean you said you left your old group behind so do you plan to go home or something?"

Duncan swallowed his food and looked at the girl before erupting in laughter. "Are you kidding me? The last place I'd go back to is that place with those people. My dad pretty much hates me and I bet would cuff me if he heard I was with a gang. Ma is probably the only person I could somewhat tolerate but I would risk total freedom for her so…..basically no way in hell."

"But they're your parents!" Zoey protested. "I'm sure they must be worried about you. Wouldn't it be nice to at least give them a call or something?"

"Yeah that would be nice of me to do, but I'm NOT a nice guy, remember?" Duncan smirked.

"Whatever you say." Zoey rolled her eyes, playfully. "But where do you plan to stay at?"

"I don't know. Maybe an old bud of mine like Geoff or DJ would put me up or something." Duncan responded nonchalantly as he sipped his soda.

Zoey then narrowed her eyes as she played with her fingers. "You could stay with me." She whispered.

Duncan turned around and spit his food at a middle aged man's head as he turned around , ignoring the curses from behind him.

"What did you just say?" Duncan gawked.

"I said you could stay with me until you can find a place of your own…. unless you don't want to!" Zoey rubbed her arm nervously.

Duncan's never thought Zoey would be so bold asking something like that. Though at this point, he doesn't really have a lot of options as Geoff probably forgot about him after all these years since he's most likely still with Bridgette and DJ… well Duncan wouldn't want to deal with 24 hours of DJ's mama's sass. He had dealt with plenty of it with Leshawna back in the earlier days of Total Drama.

"Ok.. if you're alright with it, I'm down." Duncan said.

"Perfect!" Zoey smiled. "So once you finish eating, I can give you a ride to my apartment."

"Um nuh-uh. I've got a motorcycle with saddlebags. I ride solo, sweetie." Duncan proclaimed as he folded his arms.

"Whatever you say, Mr. Bad Boy." Zoey giggled.

"Actually, we can leave now because I'm pretty much done." As he said this, Duncan went to toss all his remaining food in the trash before he made his way back to the table. "You ready to go?"

"Sure, let's head on out." Zoey smiled which Duncan returned back before scowling to look badass in front of people causing Zoey to laugh out loud. As they made their way to the entrance, Duncan tripped a guy putting his food in the trash.

"Hey! What the hell is your problem?!" The guy yelled.

"Oops my bad!" Duncan gasped. "Let me help you up, man." As he bended down to help the guy up and his items, he took out 50 dollars from the wallet and swiftly put the wallet back in the guy's pocket without him noticing. "Really dude, sorry for that. I wasn't paying attention."

"Whatever, man." Then the man walked away with Duncan grinning as he walked away with Zoey.

"Ha. Dumbass." Duncan snickered as he went on his motorcycle. Finally he managed to do something bad/

"What's so funny?" Zoey asked.

"Nothing, lead the way, indie chick."

With no more words said, Zoey went in her car and pulled out as she made her way to the exit with Duncan following right behind her. Duncan's adventure just got more interesting… but what of the guys he left behind?


	3. Becoming Softer

Duncan was roaming around the apartment, trying to find something to do while Zoey makes lunch. It's been a whole day since Duncan moved over to Zoey's apartment and at first, Duncan thought the place would look pretty boring but it didn't look half bad as he thought it would be. Most of her decorations are old retro collectables which from what he remembered on the show, fits Zoey's taste being the "indie chick" and all. Duncan doesn't have a problem with retro items but he's not really that much a fan of them either being into punk and all that.

"Man." Duncan groaned as he plopped onto his bed as he stared at the ceiling. "The place is sweet and all, but not a lot of action goes on here. Guess it could be because I've been hanging with RVB for so long." Duncan stopped to ponder about his last sentence. "I wonder how they're doing without me. Scott's probably throwing a stupid party while Lightning is getting scolded by Alejandro for doing something stupid like taking a bath with an electric blow dryer in hand. Good times." Duncan chuckled before replacing them with a frown on his face. "But that's in the past. I don't need them anymore. I can be bad all on my one. I'm the original bad boy. The King of Evil. The Grandaddy of Disaster. The Duke of Villainy. The—"

"Duncan!" Zoey hollered from the kitchen. "Lunch's ready!"

Duncan got up from his bed with a scowl for being interrupted as he gave out his "great speech" but headed out of his room to the kitchen where he was greeted with two plates of spaghetti, a side of salad and chicken.

"Wow all this looks delish." Duncan smiled as he took a seat and immediately began digging into the food. Zoey laughed at Duncan's impatience as she sat in her seat and began to eat. Not much was said between the two as Duncan was currently in Heaven as he continued to ravage his plate. He never knew Zoey would be such a good cook. This beats anything his mom ever made, anything juvie served him and anything Courtney has forced down his throat. Basically, the food was great.

"Man. Gotta give you props Zoey, this food is to die for." Duncan mumbled through bites as he reached for his cup of water.

"Thanks. I get the recipes from my mom." Zoey giggled. "I was worried you'd hate it because…"

Duncan stopped eating so he can look at Zoey. "Because what?" The delinquent asked with confusion on his face.

"Because…" Zoey played with her fingers, nervously. "It's not something you're used to being in street gangs for so long."

"Oh is that all?" Duncan laughed with Zoey giving him a playful pout. "Chill, sweetie. Food is food no matter where it comes from unless it's from Chef."

This caused both young adults to laugh at the joke as they reminisce about how much they hated Chef and his food.

"Those were some dark days especially when we got into it in Season 4 for what he did to…." Zoey's mood darkened a little bit at the thought of him and Duncan could clearly see that he still has an effect on her since she still loves him deep inside her heart somewhere. It's as plain as day just by looking at her face.

Duncan, wanting to clear up all this negative atmosphere, decided to change the subject. "So yeah. Chef's food was the pits. Your food is a major step up in my book from anything I've ever eaten and that includes what I ate with RVB."

"Aww thanks for the compliment." Zoey smiled, putting away her negative feelings as she played with the remainder of her food. "So what did you guys used to eat from the streets?"

"Well we pretty much use the money we stole from other gangs to keep us going." Duncan explained. "I mean our parents weren't going to help us and that pretty much got us where we were today as RVB."

"I never did ask." Zoey spoke up. "How did you guys even become a group in the first place? Last I remember from the show, you guys were never really friends and didn't like each other all that much."

"It's….. kinda a long story. And I mean long." Duncan sighed as he looked away from Zoey, who gave him a skeptical look. "Though one of these days when I'm in the mood, I'll tell you the whole story."

"Promise?" Zoey asked, hopefully.

"I promise." Duncan chuckled before taking another bite of his meal.

"Then let's pinky promise then just to show it's official." Zoey smiled brightly as she raised her pinky on the table.

"Pinky promise?!" Duncan almost choked on his food, punching his chest to get the food going through his airway. "Bad boys don't do pinky promises!"

"But you're not a bad boy, remember?" Zoey giggled while she batted her eyes at Duncan in a playful manner with the boy's face red in embarrassment.

"Uh yeah. Last time I checked I was on the RVB. Biggest bad boy group in the country." Duncan smiled with pride.

"Keyword: was on the RVB. Meaning you're no longer in the group also meaning, you're not really a bad boy anymore." Zoey smiled.

"I am too!" Duncan protested, annoyed at the girl's claims.

"Duncan… please just pinky promise with me. It would mean that it's a sincere promise between us. Unless you don't trust me." Zoey said as she put her hands on her face and began to sob.

"Aww man." Duncan groaned as he saw the girl crying in front of him. Why is this such a big deal to her? It's just a stupid promise that can be made clear with words than with….with… a pinky promise. That's so….unmanly. But Zoey's sobbing was beginning to wear on his nerves so he decided to sideline his pride for now as he stuck out his pinky.

"Ok! I'm really sorry, Zoey, we can do the pinky promise thing if it means that much to you." Duncan grumbled.

"Yay!" Zoey smiled, happily as she locked her pinky with the dumbfounded delinquent. "I knew you were a sweetheart. Only sweethearts would have tried to comfort a girl in need."

"B-but…" Duncan stuttered, shocked at Zoey's deception. "I legit thought you were crying."

"Oh no. Just a little trick I learned is all." Zoey chuckled as she got up to take her plate to the sink. "I didn't know I would be that good if I was able to fool you.

"Because I didn't know you could be so sneaky." Duncan muttered, upset at being duped by Zoey but impressed at the same time. "Never knew the indie princess had a dark side."

"Well I can get pretty tough when I want to be. " Zoey smirked as she put the dishes away. "Just ask Scott."

"I would but he's probably still pissed off about the fight." Duncan shrugged.

"Well I hope you guys patch things up one of these days." Zoey said as she sat down once again. "I mean you guys are friends after all."

"Heh, I guess so… " Duncan trailed off. "Speaking of friends, when was the last time you talked to the bubble dork and Gwen?"

"The last time I talked to Cameron and Gwen?" Zoey corrected, a little offended at the insult at her friend. " Well let's see… about a month ago or so. We've all been pretty busy lately especially Gwen with her job as an artist."

"Wait, Gwen actually got a job in painting?" Duncan asked, shocked at the news.

"Yeah." Zoey responded. "You more than anyone should know how gifted she was in drawing and painting. Her artwork's amazing and apparently the guy who picked her up as one of his artists thought the same thing too."

"Wow…. good for her." Duncan nodded, thinking about his memories with Gwen. Sure she's his ex-girlfriend and all but part of him still thinks of her in a positive way even though she probably still hates him after how they left things two years ago.

"Uh Duncan, you ok?" Zoey waved at Duncan's face trying to get him to snap out of his daydream.

"Oh what? " Duncan looked back at Zoey. "Oh no I'm fine. Just thinking over the news." Duncan got up from his seat and looked around. "So what do you want to for the rest of the day?"

"Well I plan on sort of rearranging some of the things around the house especially now that you're staying with me." Zoey answered. "Want to join me?"

"Uhh…" Duncan looked away trying to think of an excuse to get away from the boring task.

"Unless you don't want to." Zoey turned away to walk down the hall.

"Alright, fine." Duncan groaned as he followed her down the hall with Zoey turning around to flash him a beautiful smile.

"Thanks Duncan." Zoey beamed. "Would be a lot more fun doing the chore with you around."

"Uh sure no problem." Duncan responded, putting his hands in his pocket. "Ugh two times in a row that I've let this soft side take over. Can't help it when she gives me those puppy dog looks or that pretty smile of hers…. wait pretty smile? What the hell is wrong with me?" Duncan groaned, mentally as he began moving some boxes around the room. He picked up a heavy one and moved it to the corner of the room but a picture flew out of the box.

"The hell? " Duncan saw the photo on the ground and dropped the box so he can pick it up. He was a bit shocked at the contents of the photo. "I can't believe it… to think she would have something like this laying around. Guess Zoey hasn't fully moved on yet if she still has this around." Duncan whispered to himself as he placed the photo back in the box just so he wouldn't upset Zoey but he does plan on getting it back at a later time. 

The sun shone through the window getting in Duncan's eyes. Bothered, the delinquent woke up, grumbling as he went to open the blinds.

"It's morning already?" Duncan mumbled, groggily. "Guess all that moving things around really wore me out." As he said this, he looked around his surroundings. Even though it's been his second day sleeping here, Duncan still can't believe how calm and peaceful the atmosphere is compared to how he used to live.

"Definitely a lot better than being on the lookout with RVB." The delinquent yawned as he made he left his room to head on down to the kitchen, where he saw Zoey already cooking breakfast. Zoey noticed Duncan coming and turned to him with a smile on her face.

"Good morning!" Zoey beamed cheerfully. "How'd you sleep? Hopefully you slept well…. unless you didn't!"

"Relax Princess Redhead." Duncan chuckled, amused at Zoey's demeanor. "I slept like a rock. We did so much moving around that I practically collapsed on my bed once I got back to my room."

"Yeah same here." Zoey giggled before stopping what she was doing for a second to glance at the redesigned living room. "But on the upside, the place looks a lot more lively than before. With you staying here, I couldn't just keep things the same. I needed to get rid of some things I didn't need anymore."

"Getting rid of things you don't want anymore, huh?" Duncan thought as he recalled what he found last night in one of Zoey's boxes. He hasn't decided on when he should confront her about it and why she still has it but for the sake of a drama-less household, it's best he not bring it up so soon. If this were Total Drama, something like that would have been a gold mine for people like Chris to exploit.

"Breakfast's almost ready so if you want, you could wait at the table or something." Zoey informed the boy as she got some plates out and placed them on the counter.

"Uh… do you need some help with that?" Duncan subconsciously asked out loud. *"Stupid! Why did I ask to help?! That's not what bad guys do!"*

Zoey turned to him, a face mixed with shock and joy. "Really? You really want to help out? I-I don't want burden you since you are a guest here at the moment."

*No! Say no! Say you don't wanna help, you fucking wimp!* Duncan thought in his mind as he looked back at Zoey, not wanting to disappoint her for some reason. "Yeah it's no big deal." Duncan shrugged, trying to play it cool although his face betrayed his intention.

Zoey noticed this but simply smiled even wider. "Thanks Duncan. I really appreciate how thoughtful you're being." Her words for some reason had Duncan squirming in the inside. Like his body was heating up from something within. He's not entirely sure he likes this feeling. It makes him feel like a….softie.

"It's really no problem, what do you want me to do?" Duncan asked.  
"Well you can clear out the table for me and then put the plates on top of it." Zoey explained as she took the eggs out of the frying pan before she placed some pancakes and bacon on the plates. As she was doing this, Duncan was doing as she instructed by clearing out the table, silently. Once done, he went over to place the plates on the table with Zoey following him behind. Once the food was set, they ate their breakfast in silence.

"Amazing as usual, Red." Duncan says as he finish his meal.   
Zoey smiled over the delinquent's comment. "Thanks Duncan, you really are such a sweet guy.  
"I'm not sweet at all, remember? Total bad guy right here." Duncan says trying and failing to sound tough.  
Zoey snickered. "Whatever you say Bad boy."

]


End file.
